Great article on ranch home design genius Cliff May

Today's L.A. Times has a great article about ranch home design giant Cliff May.  Title should link; if not, click here. Among other elements, May and his contemporaries popularized our indoor-outdoor home design.  If you'd like to see a home that represents this kind of style, please visit me today, April 1, from 2 to 5 pm, at my open house at 1585 Knollwood Terrace in Pasadena.

(Where the hell is) Sparr Heights, the land that time forgot

I know this post probably seems counter-intuitive since I usually work more to the west, but I previewed a really nice home (above) in Sparr Heights this week. You say you don’t know where that is? Why, it’s part of Montrose (which is the north side of Glendale [where it meets La Crescenta and La Canada]).  Not far from Descanso Gardens.  And the 2 Fwy.  And close to the best TJ Maxx in our area (in La Canada).

When I haven't been there for awhile, I am always instantly reminded of how nice the community is.  If you've never been there, here’s the dope: it’s a very pretty, residential area with an old-school, charming vibe.  The properties are unspoiled but well-maintained (mostly, anyway) single family character homes of about 1100 sf to 1800 sf, with old growth trees, old L.A. street lights (the area began to develop in the 20’s), no McMansions, no upzoning,  and good public schools.  Real estate prices start in the $500ks.  For you statisticians, here’s a link to the city-data.com entry, which also has a map.  The community is close to the Montrose shopping streets of Honolulu Avenue and Ocean View, which is also an area that chain stores and restaurants mostly forgot.  The shopping street probably has more mom-and-pop stores than any other area this side of Arizona, but it also has some really cool restaurants, including the newish and getting better-known-by-the-day Bashan. 

What’s the catch? It’s miles from anything except La Crescenta and La Canada (and the best TJ Maxx).  Americana at Brand isn’t really even close.  And you have to go over or around a mountain to even get to Pasadena.  That’s probably why it’s so unspoiled – nobody goes there that doesn’t already live there and the residents like it just the way it is.  And houses don’t go up for sale there very often.  Still, the neighborhood is definitely worth a field trip if you're considering a single family home in the price range.

Houses under $300,000? Yes.

I showed several homes yesterday in northwest Pasadena -- under $300,000! Yes, they were fixers (ranging from light to not-so-light). They were all under 1100 square feet. All but one were on regularly-sized lots, and yes, they all had roofs, floors, doors and windows, were in regular residential neighborhoods, and none were on busy streets. Yes, most were short sales or REOs. But I was surprised at how many real bargains are out there, and I think there will be more bargains like this to come.